Is Overwatch’s Report System Flawed?

Though we don’t like it, or want it to happen, people cheat in video games. They use various programs and tricks to try and get ahead of others and win. So, developers try and combat this with bans and suspensions. But, since they can’t see and do everything, they have report systems to let other players note when they see something very odd or suspicious. Overwatch has had an interesting history with this system. And Blizzard has been pushing players to trust in it and report when something is wrong.

But, many haven’t because they don’t trust Blizzard in regards to fixing things. The Overwatch community has made it known for a while that despite their reporting of players, Blizzard doesn’t do anything, or doesn’t do it fast enough. Then, there’s Redditor TornPlanet, who had firsthand experience with someone getting banned right in the middle of a match. Instead of just ending the match because of the banning, Blizzard apparently let the match continue as if the player had just “left” on their own accord.

What’s more, in the eyes of TornPlanet, the player who got banned (xQc), shouldn’t have gotten banned in the first place because they followed the rules of what Blizzard said to do with the report system. The community was told you could report players for “poor teamwork”, and that’s apparently what xQc did. But, xQc got banned instead of them. Now, there is other circumstances involved here, but the intent is still there.

Does Blizzard have a serious problem with their reporting system? It does appear that way, and many are noticing it. Overwatch is known for many things, but one of them is its toxicity and community that’s prone to doing bad things. If Blizzard seriously wants them to “trust the system”, they need to make sure that the system can be trusted in the right way.